


Life Undead

by DeathandDespairQueen



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Fake AH Crew, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Female Jack Pattillo, Immortal Fake AH Crew, Immortality, Major Character Undeath, Medical Procedures, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police, inspired by iZombie, morgues, the gents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2018-10-15 09:49:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10554284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathandDespairQueen/pseuds/DeathandDespairQueen
Summary: Usually screaming from the police morgue was no good.ALTERNATIVELY: Ray works for the Los Santos Police Department as a medical examiner in the morgue. Everything changes when they get a body bag from the recent convenience store shoot out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys its me your local """""author"""""" back with another AU no one asked for. 
> 
> this is kind of based on iZombie??? but without the zombies.  
> Probably.  
> For now.
> 
> We'll see

Usually, screaming coming from the morgue was no good. 

Unless you worked for the Los Santos Police Department. Screams from the lower level could mean anything from a tiny trip to the medical examiner taking an organ from the corpse he was currently performing autopsy on and chasing his partner around with it in his bloody hands. After 3 years of these shenanigans, other officers learned to tune it out and continue the work day, only venturing downstairs when their case absolutely needed the results. And in a city like Los Santos, every single case was of top priority. 

"You have to see this anterior rectus sheath contusion! It looks just like the Virgin Mary holdin' a Les Paul!" There's a loud  _CLANG_ as Gavin's shoes slide on the linoleum tile and he crashes straight into the examination table. Ray is probably about 4.5 seconds away from barricading himself in one of the storage drawers for good. Death didn't faze either of them, it was a huge reason why they decided to go into this field. Ray had never been very adept in the social skills department, and his friends often joked that that was the reason he had chosen a profession where he didn't have to speak to his patients. And even if he did, they wouldn't speak back.

"I'm gonna finish up this autopsy and head home. Can you finish up here without me?" Gavin had finally set aside the bruised muscle and gotten back to the serious work. "Hot date?"

"You know it. Another Tindr date. Calls herself 'dollwithagun' so I'm sure it'll just go swell." Ray snorted. It wasn't uncommon for the British lad to wind up on some horrendously bad Tindr dates containing juicy details that he spilled over open chest cavities. "Doll with a gun? You'll be lucky if she's  _not_ involved with one of the gangs 'round here. Like our John Doe seemed to be." Ray stooped down for a closer look at the strangely familiar tattoo on the cadaver's thigh. A strange looking thing with floppy ears and its tongue hanging out. "I'll have Lil J pull up any surviving Creature members on my way out. Don't stay here too late, m'boy." Gavin gives him a pat on the shoulder, neglecting to remove the bloodied glove before doing so. 

Ray lived a fairly normal life. During the day he identified cause of death for all sorts of crazy people from the streets of Los Santos. Everyone from random victims to the gang members that littered the city. After work was all wrapped up he returned home to his shitty apartment in the shitty part of town and binge-watched whatever new Netflix original caught his fancy. A painfully normal life for a 23 year old with a painfully abnormal job. No one understood why he chose to become a medical examiner.

Ray Narvaez Jr had the qualifications and smarts to become a top notch heart surgeon. The kind that could save your life with a ballpoint pen and a pocket knife. Yet he had shirked such a promising career to work in a dark basement for nearly 12 hours a day. No one seemed to understand exactly why he chose it. The truth was, it made him happier. He had made friends on the job. There was Gavin and two policemen from upstairs. And on good days, the receptionist would save him an extra crueller from the morning doughnut run. The thing that made him happiest of all was knowing that it was okay to make mistakes. If he accidentally cut a major artery while digging into someone's corpse, no one would freak out on him. How could they when he was already stone cold dead?

The routine continued. He finished the John Doe report and climbed the stairs. Dropped off the report, had a small chat with Michael, said goodbye to the receptionist. His light brown bike was still chained to the post behind the building and he rides it home with the city's gorgeous skyline framed by sunset as his backdrop. The cool breeze coming off of the ocean filled his lungs as he sped down the bustling streets. Everything was good. Everything was normal. Even the take out he ordered from the Thai place down the road was normal. Normal enough that the delivery lady knew his number AND order by heart. Finally Ray settled into his worn out couch and the routine was complete.

The next day at work was not so normal. He got the call before his alarm went off.

"M'hello?"

"Narvaez. Need you in early. Free won't pick up and we're swamped down in Homicide." The chief's gruff voice squawked from the receiver. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched out. He had fallen asleep in front of the TV again. "I'll be there ASAP, Chief. Don't worry." It wasn't much of an ordeal to peel off yesterday's nasty jeans and into some that weren't coated in blood and guts and he was back on the road in no time.

The scene at the station wasn't one he had ever seen before. Squad cars were rushing out faster than coming in, and at least four off duty officers were helping load thick black bags off of ambulances. "Ray!" One of the cops has shockingly blue hair that Ray could have sworn was a fading red when he saw him last night. Jeremy waves the M.E over somberly. "Lil J, what the hell happened?"

"Fakes. There was a huge explosion at the gas station they were hitting and....well-" Ray raised a hand and stopped him. He understood.

Gang violence had become more frequent in past years. There were probably about 100 gangs and small crime circles in the city, but one of the most notorious was one that called themselves the "Fake Gentlemen". To the police force's knowledge, there were only three of them. Geoff Lazer Ramsey, Jacqueline "Jack" Patillo, and the masked man known only as the Vagabond. Despite their small number, they were vicious and often resulted in some of the biggest body counts Ray had ever seen. Today was no different. 

"Has anyone seen Doctor Free?" He hollered through the commotion. "No, sorry Narvaez. You're on your own for now!" He ran down the stairs and pulled on his lab coat and gloves. There were already a few body bags, and a few interns were shelving them away in the drawers. "How many we got so far?"

"About 5 confirmed bodies, probably 6 Jane and John Does."

"Is that all?"

"Yep. 11 dead as of now. God, that's so awful...." Ray flipped on the TV, setting the channel to the news before settling in to work. It was gruesome. He managed to perform autopsy on three of the IDed vics before more breaking news hit. "Live from the gory scene outside of downtown Los Santos, we have received word from head of police Gustavo Sorola. There has been a confirmed 12 deaths today after local criminals known as 'Fake Gentleman' detonated a grenade during a gas station robbery, causing a gruesome explosion. One of these deaths is suspected to be a member of the crew itself, but there is no confirmation on that claim."

Ray turned to the remaining few bodies they had left to work on. With the recent update he knew two things. One was that they would have another body to work on alone. Two, one of the corpses lying just feet away from him could be one of Los Santos' most violent criminals. Guess now matter what, everyone ends up in the same place.

After an hour, Gavin still hadn't shown, Ray supposed the date with doll had gone incredibly good. Now he was down to his last body. A John Doe that had his face burned by the explosion beyond recognition.

Ask anyone in the morgue business, and they'll tell you that you get used to it. Everyone in the morgue business is lying. He always felt this thick sense of sadness for the bodies he worked on, especially for the ones he had received today. He tried to unzip the last bag and get the body out to begin, but he found that his hands were shaking far too much for such a delicate procedure about halfway down the bag. So he retired to the break room for a round of early morning TV and a quick snack instead.

It didn't take long to regain his courage and composure. You might not ever get used to it, but it does get easier. They weren't wrong in that aspect. He pulled himself to his feet and dusted Cheeto crumbs off of his lab coat. Deep breath in, 3...2...1... Deep breath out. He was ready to work on the final Doe. 

At least he would have been ready if the bag wasn't fully opened and empty when he returned to it. 

The body bag had indeed been opened and emptied. If Gavin was here it might have been a stupid joke that led to Ray discovering a corpse in the records room again. But he was alone. The interns had split after they had loaded up the last body in the drawers. So there was no one here who could have moved the John Doe. Except the body itself. But that was crazy. Right?

Despite himself, his hands were shaking. Retracing his steps over the past hour, he managed to calm himself a bit. He was frazzled. He probably got his work done and moved on while just  _thinking_ that he hadn't. But then there would have been a sewn up body and a report somewhere for the sixth John Doe and there wasn't. No matter how hard he looked or wished it into existence, it wasn't there. The crushing reality that Ray hadn't done the autopsy at all was settling in and crushing him with nerves.

"What, did the body just get up and walk away?" He said aloud. Hoped that hearing it would help him realize how silly the notion was. Suddenly he felt the cold metal of one of his own scalpels against his throat and a heavy arm around his torso. "Yes."

Usually, screaming coming from the morgue was no good. But because of past shenanigans, when Ray Narvaez Jr. let out a piercing, fear filled shriek, none of the officers upstairs seemed to care. No one thought to check on the solo medical examiner, and perhaps those choices are what led to his untimely demise. Another hand wrapped around his mouth and the blade pressed closer. "Scream again and it's the last thing you do." When you live in a crime riddled city like Los Santos, you get used to people threatening you. Sometimes at gunpoint, sometimes with intimidating stares and nothing else. But this was a first. Ray was certain that no one had ever been threatened with a scalpel in an empty morgue by what seemed to be one of the corpses come back to life. He swallowed, feeling the blade push against his Adam's apple as it bobbed.

"You have no idea how stuffy that bag was getting. Figured if you didn't leave soon I'd just have to spook you a little. Thought I was in the clear." The attacker sighed deeply. "And then you came back. Big mistake on your part but we can work with it." The hand moved from his mouth back to his waist and lifted him as if he didn't weigh a thing. Ray struggled, naturally. He kicked and tried to worm himself out of the incredibly strong arms that were carrying him across the lab. He strained to turn his head to get a clear visual of the newly revived corpse or - and this possibility was somehow even more terrifying- a live one that had been bagged by accident that was threatening his life. No dice.

His struggle increased tenfold when he realized that he was being transported, much like a piece of meat fresh off the bone, to the freezer. "Whoa, hey! Think about what you're doing here, my dude!" Vow of silence officially broken, confidence was beginning to return to the medical examiner. "Seriously! I absolutely do not think that you're considering all of your options here! I mean the freezer? You really think you're going to lock me in the freezer?"

"Yes, that's the plan." There's a touch of humor in his tone. It's terrifying. "Not really a solid plan! What will you do after you put me in? Escape?"

"Yes. That's the plan." The humor is starting to fade. This is clearly not the first time he has been in this situation and it shows. It is, however, Ray's first time. Shockingly he had never really thought about what he would do if the dead body he was supposed to dissect stood up and threatened him with a knife. Maybe he should have dedicated more time to that scenario. His mind was racing like a horse and his thoughts were probably about as coherent as one, too. They were almost at the freezer now. The blade pressed against his throat was tossed aside so he could open the door and slide the tray out. 

"You're just going to leave me here?! And-and then what? Waltz through a crowded police station in the middle of the city?! Not the smartest move you could make!" This is what finally gets him to stop. "Hadn't thought of that, had you, buddy?" Ray was unceremoniously dumped like a wet blanket onto the floor. It was grimy, but it wasn't anywhere near being locked in a freezer that was probably teeming with corpse germs. He stayed down, peeking a glance at the other man. He was pacing the floor, muttering furiously to himself. Ray managed to catch the words "idiot" and "dammit" at least a few times.

"You could always pretend to die again and have them cart you out for burial. Unless no one comes to claim you. Then we'd have to either cremate you on site or donate you to medical research over at the college. Your choice."

"You know you are being awful cocky for someone being held hostage by the Vagabond." The wave of confidence receded and went into low tide.

* * *

When you live in Los Santos, you learn to adapt. For some that means ignoring the obvious gang setting up shop on the roof of the parking garage across from your office building. For others, it means joining that gang and hoping no mercenaries get word of your station. For Ryan, it meant becoming that mercenary. It wasn't honest work but it got him paid in ammo and all the money he could take from his victim's pockets. And once he found a consistent flow of work in a crew, he tended to stick around.

"Look alive. Ramsey has big planned." Files slam onto the counter in front of him, where he is honestly just trying to enjoy a light early morning snack. His mask is pushed up enough to free his mouth and his face paint is smeared all over his hands and the sandwich he was eating. Jack doesn't seem to care about his unprofessional appearance and returns to her bedroom. The penthouse they've stationed their crime syndicate in is quite nice. Plenty of room, in the perfect little spot downtown, only a few blocks away from the LSPD HQ itself. They were living in comfort and style right under their dumb noses.

Ryan finished off his sandwich and picked up the files. They were slim compared to recent plans the big boss Ramsey had passed his way. The first piece of information was a blown up grainy picture of a gas station about a mile from the penthouse. Ryan had been there before to stock up on snacks before their major jobs. Details laid out the seemingly perfect plan: They would pose as tourists just stopping through on their way to a city that didn't have a crime infested underbelly. At exactly 7:15 AM, Geoff and Jack would enter the store and kick the plan into action. Once they had the money and enough cover fire from Ryan's end, Jack would take the wheel (literally) and drive them out of the city and into the surrounding deserts.

Ryan snickered at the hurried scribble that barely managed to conceal the word 'mountains'. "Really put some thought into this one, didn't you Geoff?" He glanced at the stove clock. It was only around 4 AM. That would give him plenty of time to round up any artillery he needed to clear a path through the cops that were bound to show up the second someone even insinuated that there might be a gun in the vicinity.

The car was loaded and ready to go by the time the sun rose. The three of them reviewed the plan one last time before climbing in the car. In his opinion, the ride to the heist was far more stressful than the heist itself. The ride was uncharacteristically silent. That in itself should have been a sign for how the rest of the heist would pan out. 

The shopkeep had a gun stored beneath the counter. They had stopped by this station countless times and they had never seen him pull out a gun before. He managed a solid shot on Ryan before he unloaded into his head. Geoff shouted angrily but it didn't matter. They had to grab the money and run. Ryan secured his trademark skull mask and charged out the sliding glass doors. Telltale sirens in the distance filled his ears.  _Shit._   _The old man had managed to sound the alarm._

Jack poked her head out of the car, a few more frightened families and early morning business men were beginning to leave their vehicles as well. "Hey, what's going on? Are you...are you bleeding?" A suburban father approached Ryan. It took all of his will not to panic and to keep his micro SMG at his side. There were too many people around. If there weren't so many damn people he would light this guy up like a Christmas tree and get his Boss out safely. The sirens are getting closer. People are starting to whisper and stare. Something pushed past him and he barely registered it as Geoff. He had the money stored safely, a few bills spilling from the seams of his suit as he jumped in the getaway car. A panicked look crossed her face and Jack hopped back into the car as well.

That definitely raised suspicions. The suburban dad veered off from Ryan and pushed into the store. His oldest son followed. Sirens just down the block. Ryan had to make a choice here. Jack honked the horn, signalling that they had to go. Ryan shook his head no. Waved for them to move on without him. He could handle it here, he had taken out rival gangs in legions before. Jack clenched her jaw and nodded. They tore out of the gas station just as the cop cars turned the corner. Ryan readied his SMG. A few of the people in the crowd screamed and began the mad dash back to their cars. The man and his son burst out of the store and the man yelled at him to stop. The man was the first one down. 

Ryan could feel bullets piercing his skin but he kept shooting. He gunned down two, three, four. He didn't know if they were civilians or cops and he didn't care at all. Things were getting serious. A few officers returned to their cars, obviously going to give Jack and Geoff a run for their money. He couldn't let that happen. Ryan made a split second choice. He pulled a grenade from his repertoire of explosives and yanked the pin out with his teeth. It was meant to land in the middle of the cars and send them sky high. His aim was off by a bit. 

The grenade bounced off of one of the car's wheels, rolled away from it, and stopped neatly beneath a civilian car parked next to the gas pump. What happened next was obvious. Ryan was close enough that the blast not only scorched him but sent his flying back, head over heels. He felt his limp ragdoll body slam into the curb, felt the white hot pain of the seared off flesh of his face. His ears were still ringing and he felt light headed as hell. He knew what was coming next. He knew he was bleeding from tears in his skin and from the smoldering remains of his face. He struggled to breathe, the air so full of smoke and gas that it doesn't even seem like it's worth it to try. He takes a breath in.....a shallow breath out....a breath in.....a breath out.... until it becomes too difficult and he stops altogether. 

It's dark.

It's hard to breathe again. Not the same way it had been before. It's not smoky or acrid. It's stuffy. His skin no longer burns and the bullet holes don't sting. It takes seconds for Ryan to know where he is. The body bag rustled around him as he fiddled with the zipper. He could hear the telltale sound of someone padding around, murmuring to themself about this and that. From the sound of it, they were the only one in there. It took some maneuvering but Ryan managed to grab the zipper and inch it down so he could peer out of the dense bag. All he could see was the morgue worker's shoes, but that meant he could watch and wait for them to leave. Time was not on his side. Their work seemed to drag on for hours and hours. Finally the moment of truth. The checkered Vans marched towards the bag currently containing him.

Ryan did not panic. He kept his nerves in check as a hand slowly unzipped his bag. And then stopped. Then the feet stood back up and walked away. That was confusing to Ryan. He wondered for a moment if his mind control practice on Geoff was finally starting to pay off. He had to act fast. He made quick work of unzipping the bag and shuffling out of it as quietly as he could. The telltale sounds of gunfire pierced the air and he almost made a mad dash for the stairs right then and there until he realized that the sound was generated by the ME's TV show. How could someone who worked in such a gruesome environment stand to take a break by watching gruesome TV shows.

Ryan began creeping up the stairs. He had every opportunity to leave and never look back. But something inside of him wouldn't let him leave. It's not that he worried about being recognized. The Vagabond wore a mask, and that had been burned to ash by the explosion. Realistically, he should have been burned to ash too. But there were perks to his condition. A part of him felt as if he couldn't leave any witnesses, despite the fact that the other man hadn't even seen him. He grabbed a shiny scalpel from the nearby tray and crept towards the break room. Before he could launch his weapon into the ME's brain, the TV clicked off and the man rose from the couch. He scuttled as fast as he could to a new hiding place.  

He watched him make his way back over to the bag. Panic. Retrace his steps and search and search for something. Anything to indicate that he hadn't lost his mind. It was kind of cute. Like watching a puppy look for the treat you had really just hid in your pocket.

"What, did the body just get up and walk away?" The perfect opportunity had just presented itself to him. He rushed the man and grabbed him. One hand wrapped around his waist, the other pressing the scalpel to his throat. One quick motion and he could tear a fatal line through his soft skin. "Yes~."

* * *

 

Ray never imagined the Vagabond as a panicky person. He also never imagined he would be perched on an examination table watching The Vagabond pace around the police morgue. He definitely didn't imagine that an officer would accidently bag up someone who hadn't died yet. Or lie about their face being burned almost completely off. There had been a lot of bodies, though. There was a completely logical explanation as to why this man that looked more like a middle aged Dad/Part time IT guy than Los Santos' most notorious mercenary had wound up in his morgue.

"I could still kill you. Just remember that."

"I know. You've told me 5 times now." The man scowled at him. It was like a dad pretending to be cross with a naughty child. Ray tried to keep in a snicker. "You haven't helped at all! If you can't get me out of here, then things will go south. That threat is in no way a bluff, young man!" 

"Yeah yeah I remember you holding a knife to my throat." Even with the possibility that this man was really The Vagabond, all of the dread Ray had previously felt was gone. He had hesitated before when it came to killing him. Plus the whole Dad thing he had going on.

 _"More like Daddy."_ Ray thought to himself and immediately regretted. He glanced at the clock on the far wall. 12:32 pm. "Well, I take lunch in about a half hour. Most of the station does. We can sneak you out then." The plan is full of giant holes and will fall apart upon any sort of interrogation. But it was the only plan he had. "Or I could go on my original plan. I kill you, take your clothes, and leave in a Hitman style blaze of glory." With each word The Vagabond got closer and closer. Soon he loomed over Ray and smirked down at him. Suddenly Ray didn't have a hard time believing the crazy story that this was the famed killer that terrorized the streets. The fluorescent light glinted off of the scalpel blade menacingly. All the dread came rushing back. The man placed his hands on either side of Ray and leaned closer, close enough that their noses almost touched. "How does that sound." His voice is rough, barely above a whisper. Ray swallowed hard.

"Hey Ray, Chief said you could take off early, so Linds and I are gonna-" Michael stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Oh shit. M'I interrupting something?" Ray scooted back so hard he took the table down with him. The other two groaned at the hard SMACK his head made as it connected with the linoleum. When he opened his eyes he saw the scalpel lying on the floor next to him. The man must've taken the opportunity to drop his weapon discretely when he fell. "Shit. This why you were screaming earlier?"

Was Michael on to them? Did he know that this man was a threat? Michael was a trained officer, he could handle this. He could take the man out and save him-

"You know you guys aren't s'posed to sneaking your boyfriends down here. Especially not if you're gonna get nasty." Ray was going to die here.

"Sorry. We just got a little carried away." Well if the Vagabond didn't kill him then the embarrassment would. He stooped down and hauled the smaller man to his feet. "Babe, didn't you say that you were taking lunch soon anyways? If Chief said you're free to, why don't we just...." He wiggled his bushy, dad like eyebrows at Ray. Ray was not impressed in the slightest. But if they were going to play up the fake boyfriend angle, might as well milk it for all it's worth. "My friend is like right there, dude." The man chuckled and snaked an arm around Ray's shoulders. "He won't be there forever." Ray leaned into the touch. "Gross. I was gonna take you out for lunch but you've ruined my appetite. You crazy kids get outta here before you gross out the whole station." Michael turned and marched back up the stairs without another word.

"I can't believe that fucking worked."

Ray had no trouble getting the Vagabond out of the station once Michael returned and spread the word about Ray's "visitor". The only thing they got on the way out were sly winks and a few wolf whistles. The Vagabond responded with equally sly winks and slid his hand into the back pocket of Ray's jeans. The two of them kept up the charade until they reached the back of the building. "Alright. Give me your keys and I'll be out of your hair." Ray gave him a strange look. "If I had keys to give, I wouldn't give them to a stranger. Especially not one that threatened my life and then pretended to want to fuck me."

"Pretend. Sure." Ray felt his cheeks heating up and he had never wanted to throw himself off of Maze Bank more than right now. "You can call me Ryan, by the way. Less inconspicuous than Vagabond."

"Okay, Ryan. Get out of here. You got what you wanted and out here in the open isn't the wisest place to take out a witness." Ray stalked towards his bike. He had a long day, and was glad that it had ended early. Even if he had to deal with that weird middle part. "Though, there is still one thing I don't get. How did you get down there in the first place?"

"I died." Ray scoffed. Of course he would still be a smartass about this. "No. Seriously. What did you do to get in there?" Ryan leaned against the wall of the building. "I told ya. I totally died in the explosion. Burned my whole face off. It was really wild." He smirked. "You don't believe me."

"Yeah. Because you're clearly not dead. Or faceless." Ray unlocked his bike and hopped on. "You don't believe me. Here give me your phone. I'll put my number in and you can call me whenever. I'd love to tell you more about what I am. Maybe I could help you clear a few things up. Over dinner, perhaps?" Ray was not blushing again. Definitely not. Not at all. "What you are? Like a zombie or something?"

"Zombies don't exist."

"Oh. Right. Obviously. My bad." The two of them shared a laugh. "I'm something much weirder. I'm what you would call immortal." Ryan did something that, after all of today's events, made even less sense than anything else. He leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Call me."

* * *

Ray almost got hit by a few cars on his way home. He was distracted as hell by the day's events. He decided to veer off and go visit his boi. See how the date had gone. It had to have been pretty good if he hadn't come into work at all. Gav had a nice apartment in Little Seoul. The door had been open, like it usually was when he came by. "Hey Gav. You missed one hell of a day today. They brought in like at least10 bodies and-"

He was met with silence. That was unusual. Frightening. But he was home. He had to be. The door was only unlocked when he was home. "Yo? Gavin, my boy? Where are you? I brought takeout!" He stepped in something wet. "Oh, gross. Did you spill something?" Gavin couldn't stand stepping in wet stuff. Maybe he was looking for a towel to clean it up? The white of his checkered Vans were stained a strange red pink. "Did you spill some fruit punch or something?" The farther he followed the trail the thicker it seemed to get. Ray recognized the substance. But he couldn't quite remember where. Or he didn't want to remember where. "Vav? Bud, answer me for the love of God...."

They tell you it gets easier. There was nothing easy about finding your best friend of many years wide eyed and bleeding from a gaping wound in his neck. Ray knew had recognized the substance. He had gotten his hands covered in it time and time again during work hours. "Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, Gav, wake up." He placed his hand on his friend's neck. No pulse. Nothing. "God dammit, no. Fuck." Ray pressed their foreheads together. After all of the bullshit that had happened today this couldn't be true. He had dealt with 10 dead bodies, a man claiming to be immortal toying with him mentally and sexually. A dead friend, bleed out on the floor of his apartment. It hardly seemed fair. 

Ray took his time holding Gavin's body and processing it all. Finally he released him from his grasp. He had to clean up and call Michael and Lil J. He was covered in gore, more than he had been when he had left. Plus he didn't want to fuck up any more evidence than he already had by tracking blood around when he came in searching for Gavin. He turned on the shower and scrubbed himself clean. Even after he stood under scalding hot water for what seemed like hours he felt like blood was still stuck to his skin. Then he stalked back to the kitchen for a drink. He hadn't taken a break since earlier that morning and he was thirsty. There was a rattling in the kitchen. Ray wondered if he had actually been there for as long as he had thought and someone else had wandered in. "Yo, anyone there?"

"X-Ray?" Ray almost felt his own heart stop. Only one person called him X-Ray. That person should have been lying on the floor, body already setting into rigor mortis. "Gavin? That you?" The Brit turned around. He looked like he had just woken up from the deepest slumber he had ever been in. He probably had been. It was like he didn't even realize that he had been brutally murdered. His neck was still covered in drying blood. "That date got a little crazy last night."

Ray didn't know what to say. He figured that he should probably call that Ryan guy sooner than later. 

  

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morgue incident was just the beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys??????? are the light of my life???? this story got so much love right away and i feel bad bc it was just a silly idea i had at like 4 am and yall love it?????
> 
> anyways if you havent feel free to check out some of my other writing and some of my art at my tumblr
> 
> ask-cosplayukraine-please@tumblr.com
> 
>  
> 
> also like mega sorry this took so long? and guess what lol its not done theres more coming. eventually. we'll see.

For the first time in years, Ray was afraid of his best friend. He was shaking in the seat across from Gavin in the tiny kitchen, still bearing the metallic stink of blood. Ryan told him that zombies weren't real, but Ryan had also told him that he was an immortal who had his face burned off in an explosion he had caused. Ryan said he was the Vagabond. Ray didn't know what to believe anymore.

"-So I pick her up at her apartment and the girl is STUNNING! She's got like her hair all curled up and everything." Gavin was just as oblivious to the fear pouring off of Ray in waves. When his head had cleared he hadn't noticed the wound on his neck or the fact that the black and white tiles were dyed in such a gory fashion. All Ray could do was listen and hope that his story would reveal even a tiny clue as to what the hell had happened to him last night. "So then we go and hit the Alamo draft house. The movie wasn't all that interesting. I really just loved watching her watch it, I guess. After that we walked through the park and got a churro from one of those carts. And then we...." He trailed off. Flicked his tongue over his lips. His eyes wandered the room and Ray knew he was trying to recall the details of his evening after park churros.

"I think we came back here. Or I took her home? It's kinda fuzzy. Must've grabbed a bad churro." Ray nodded. Under the table his fingers tapped out a message to the number Ryan had slid him begging for help. He didn't know what a possible liar/murdering gang member could do to help him in the situation but in his fried mind Ryan was the only person in the world who could have any knowledge on what the hell was happening in his life right now. At least, he was the only one who wouldn't freak the absolute fuck out to hear that Gavin had been apparently massacred and resurrected in the span of 12 hours.

"Is that all you came for, bruv? Details on my date? I mean, not that I don't like having you over. I'm just so tired right now for some reason."

"You slept all day, though." 

"I did not."

"You did too. Dude, work's already over. Trust me, you should feel glad you knocked out instead of coming in." His hand buzzed in his hand. He wanted to whip it out and check it right away. It took everything to resist that urge. "Big day?"

"The worst. Fakes blew up a gas station and took some civ's down with it. God, you would _not_ believe the shit I saw today." Gavin had been a medical examiner for nearly as long as he had. Unless the bloody apartment was a part of something more supernaturally sinister, Ray doubted that the Brit had ever seen anything like Ryan in the morgue. "Juicy Crust. Glad my dirt nap cut into that horror show." He pushed himself away from the table and shuffled to the cupboard adjacent. As he pulled out his electric kettle and bag of tea leaves he finally seemed to notice the mess on his floor. "Speaking of a horror show.....What the hell is all o' this?" 

The blood has been drying through their entire conversation and now looks an almost brownish red against black and white linoleum. But it is obviously still blood. "Was this you? Did you seriously get _that_ bloody during work?" Ray swallows. He's going to have to tell the truth, right? Gavin is smart. He would know that no matter how busy you never come home and drip that much blood from anywhere, not even your own. Most of the time. "You know if you were really that busy, you should have called. Even Gus could've if you needed 'im too. God, you aren't really a superhero, X-Ray." 

Gavin was smart sometimes. When it mattered. Now was not one of those times apparently. "Y-Yeah. Sorry, you were asleep and I was just, yknow, coated. I showered and shit and I hoped you would still be asleep so I could clean up the mess. But you woke up so-" He laughs nervously. "I'll just- I'll just clean it up now." He scoots back and sinks to his knees, grabbing the slightly damp towel he had used to dry himself after his shower from the counter on his way down and started scrubbing at the gore.

Gavin snorted. It must've been a pretty ridiculous sight. At least he was smiling. And alive. Thank _God_ he was alive. "Lemme help you, fool." He wets a rag in the sink and gets down on his hands and knees beside him. They clean in silence, falling into a rhythm similar to the one they have when wiping down medical equipment in the lab. Ray catches a glance at Gavin's neck when he moves closer to get a spot that he can't quite reach. There are two scabbed over wounds in his neck. They look like they are healing impossibly fast. Ray feels his heart sink even farther into his gut.

Once they finish, Ray returns to his seat at the table and Gavin to the abandoned kettle and leaves. He pauses. One more unusual thing he's done since Ray arrived. "Something wrong with the kettle?"

"Nah. Kettle's fine....just not feelin' like tea right now." A heavy silence hangs between them. "Who are you and what've you done with Vav?!" He forces out the words with laughter instead of pain. His best friend laughs as well and replaces his tea supplies. Ray isn't joking. He pulls out his phone and checks Ryan's text.

_Lunch. Tomorrow._

Ray bites his tongue to repress a groan. Asking him out would not help. He shoots back another text chiding him. The response is more immediate this time. 

_Pls. I can tell u everything._

Dammit. Ray is not weak. He does not fling himself at every chance to....do whatever it is he and Ryan are doing. Awkward flirting in exchange for favors and information? Yeah, not something he does on a regular basis. But he needs to know what happened to Gavin. For his sake. For both of their sakes and their sanity. Whatever is left of it, anyways.

* * *

The penthouse was an eery quiet this afternoon. Jack and Geoff were still waiting off their wanted levels out in that bar in the middle of the desert that never really cared how criminal you were as long as you paid your tab. The silence gave him time to unwind and let the events of the day really sink in. Had he really seduced his way out of a morgue? Had the medical examiner really fallen for his bad lines and poorly times moves? How had that worked out for him at all? Honestly, he should still be in that station in handcuffs instead of a body bag.

He should still be in that body bag, stone cold and burned beyond recognition. But that never bothered him anymore. Well, it never bothered him much.

He had barely managed to shed his burnt and bloody clothes when his phone rang from the pocket of his jeans. It was a text from the medical examiner. That was much sooner than he had expected.

**_i need ur help_ **

And just like that the tables had turned. That was also faster than he expected. He wondered what could have gone wrong in such a short amount of time, and how it had gone so wrong that he would resort to asking a known criminal for assistance. Not that he minded. He shot back a quick text asking him to meet for lunch tomorrow afternoon, then set his phone down and continued his endless pursuit for a much needed shower. 

Ryan liked cold showers after respawning. The way the chilled water pelted his skin and sunk deep into his pores and even deeper into his soul made him feel as if he was truly alive. Soap and blood swirled around his feet and into an unknown oblivion beyond the drain. He couldn't help but wonder how much of that was his and how much of it belonged to the father who confronted him. How much was from that man's son? Even after his death had completely faded from reality he could still feel an ache in his bones and a strain in his muscles. His body took on what the world could not and kept it like a skeleton in his closet. A metaphorical one. He had yet to keep a real skeleton in a closet but he lived on the assumption that he  _might_ one day. 

By the time he had finished his shower Ray had responded. 

**_stop fuckin around im serious_ **

Ryan snorted. He knew that he was serious. His offer, while backed with an ulterior motive, was no joke. 

_Pls. I can tell u everything._

**_...._ **

**_k. but its not a date_**

"Ooh. A period after the 'k'. I must be special." With that Ryan let his phone slid from his hand and clatter with a bit more crunch than he was comfortable with and stalked off to his room. He was going to need one hell of a nap after today.

* * *

Jack shook him awake. "Hey, we got your cut." Ryan had barely rubbed the sleep from his eyes when a barrage of bills rained like justice from above. "I threw in some of mine as a consolation for dying."

"Thanks. How'd the rest of the heist go." For a long time Jack didn't answer. "We got the money, didn't we?" He noticed the slight limp in her step as she walked out of his room and even in the dim light he could see a bit of bandage poking out from under her shirt. How rough had things gotten after he died? They hadn't died, but there could be things much worse than that.

The clock beside his bed read 11:36 AM. He supposed now was as good of time as any to haul himself out of bed and rejoin the land of the living once again and get ready for his not-date with the medical examiner for the LSPD. Someone, who if the situation arose, could probably notify his police officer friends and expose not only him but the rest of the crew. The more he thought about it, the less of a good idea it seemed. But he doubted that the worst would come to light, Ray seemed like too much of a good guy to suddenly rat him out. Plus he didn't seem to be convinced that Ryan was who he said he was. He shot him a quick text saying to meet at Horny's Burgers off of East Mirror Drive around noon.

Geoff and Jack were sprawled across the couches in the front room. In better lighting Ryan could clearly see how battered they were. Shades of purple and blue peeked out from the hem of Jack's white shorts which were more of a dirty red and brown from blood and dust that had collected in their escape. It looked as if she had been thrown from the car while speeding through the deserts. From the way Geoff's suit was torn to shit and also dyed a slightly lighter dirt brown in some places, that seemed to be the case. "Something tells me we lost the Adder?" The other Gents groaned loudly. Geoff took a long swig of coffee before responding. 

"Cops are getting pickier and pickier with each Heist. Their shitty bosses are probably cracking down or some shit. I hate it." 

"At least we lived. Speaking of, how'd you get home after all that? There were at least 10 or more people there when we left, and we saw you take out a good few before we peaced out." It was Ryan's turn to groan. "The cops bagged me up with the rest of 'em. Took me to the morgue before I could respawn. Had to find my own way out without getting caught."

"Sounds rough. You kill anymore cops on your way out?" Ryan shrugged. "Nah. I...." It wasn't the brightest idea to tell them about Ray, especially since he had been reckless enough to get himself caught and require his help in the first place. "I respawned while a lot of them were out. 'round lunch and probably out trying to get you. Lucky break, I guess." Geoff and Jack watched as he stalked across the room and pulled on his shoes and jacket. "Where you going now?"  
  


"Out. I have to....uh...I gotta get a new mask. My old one burnt up in the explosion. Don't wait up." He was out the door before either of them could protest.

East Mirror Drive was fairly far from the penthouse, but Ryan didn't really feel like driving. On days like today, without face paint or a mask, he could blend right into the civilian crowd seamlessly. People waved to him, babies smiled at him. Even people buried in their phones would mutter apologies to him when they shoulder checked him. Everything was simply better when people didn't know that he was the one who shut down three different streets with an explosion that killed 10 people and destroyed a gas station a little over 24 hours ago. In that same vein, most people didn't seem to care all that much about the massacre. They all seemed relatively calm considering that fact. He supposed that when you lived in a city where shit like that happened almost every other week it was easier to push tragedy to the back of your mind and go on living a life you're lucky to hang on to.

Ray was already waiting for him by the time he finally arrived at Horny's. Just like yesterday, Ray looked ragged and high strung. The only difference was the fact that his lab coat was slightly cleaner than before. "Hey, you actually made it. Good to see you in the land of the living." Ryan joked.

"I could say the same for you, zombie boy." To Ryan's surprise Ray moved in for a hug. It took him aback but he returned it. He had an act to keep up here. When normal people met a friend for lunch, they hugged. And didn't secretly wish they were not hugging the other person in public. Ray pulled back and ran a hand thorugh his hair. "We need to talk."

"Can we at least get a Horny Burger first?" Ray's lips pulled into a tight line. It was obvious that today he was not in the mood for joking. "Yeah just....let's grab a booth." The restaurant wasn't as busy on a Wednesday afternoon. Most people preferred this joint when the sun was barely above the mountains and the moon was showing proudly in the sky. This gave them the chance to keep their conversation quiet but still heard.

By the time the waitress slapped down two orders of plain burgers and fries Ray had wound himself even tighter, refusing to talk until he was certain the waitress would no longer be coming past."Okay. You should be clear. Now tell me what you called me here for?"

"This." A smartphone in a decorative purple case slid across the table. Ryan assumed that as a morgue worker, Ray was used to gore. And being what he was, both immortal and a mercenary, he should have been too. But when he scrolled through the photos that Ray had snapped he could feel his own blood running cold. Blood staining a kitchen beyond survivable rates, a smiling man with a large nose and goofy smile covered in even more blood but smiling and laughing like he didn't even notice. A close up on the same man's neck showing an area of skin that had scarred over much too quickly.

"This is my best friend and coworker, Gavin Free. He didn't show up to work yesterday and when I went to check on him, this is what I found. He either didn't notice or he didn't care about any of this. He also had no memory of anything past a certain point in the night and didn't want to eat or drink anything. Not even his favorites. What is this? Is he....is he like you?"

Ryan buried his head in his hands. "No. That's not it." A heavy sigh left his lips and the worry in Ray's face grew more intense. He leaned in closer and his voice quivered. "Tell me. Please. I need to know what happened to my friend."

"What did he do the night before last?"

"He had a date. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Who did he go on the date with?"

"Ryan, you're starting to scare me." Ryan's hand shot out and wrapped around Ray's wrist. His grip was far too tight and that just made Ray's fear increase. "I need to know who he went out with."

"I-I don't know her real name." His grip tightened and Ray bit back a yelp. "They met on Tindr, some girl called dollwithagun." The grip on his wrist released entirely and Ryan's head reburied itself. "God dammit. That's what I was afraid of." His arms seemed to give out and his head slammed into the table with a dull thud that put the medical examiner even more on edge than before. Ray snatched up his phone and began looking through his pictures once again. It was worse every time he saw them, even though he had been the one to take the pictures. "If he's not one of _you_ , then what is he?" 

Ryan didn't respond for a long time. The longer Ray was left in the dark the more nervous he became. He wasn't telling him for a reason. It had to be awful. What was worse than being an immortal being, doomed to die thousands of gory deaths but always wake up as if nothing happened and watch all your friends wither and die while you stayed young forever. If he were like that, he wouldn't know how to continue on. He would rather die horribly one time and stay dead than experience it over and over again. Besides, that lifestyle really seemed to take a toll on Ryan and he had only known him for a little over 24 hours.

"What happened to your friend is a tragedy." Ryan's voice finally croaked, muffled by the table. "And I don't know how to sugarcoat this for you so I'm just gonna say it." He sat up and straightened his spine, looking Ray dead in the eyes. "Tindr user dollwithagun is not what she seems. She's not a scammer, she's not really a catfisher. At least not in the traditional sense. She's what we call the Life Eater. Or in modern terms, a vampire. She uses the app to pick up desperate lonely dudes, shows them a good time, and when she's done she drains their life and leaves a bloodless husk in their place."

Ray stared back at him in a stunned silence. Gears were turning in his head as he pieced together what Ryan said and the state he had found his friend in the day before. The physical realization was quite the sight to observe. His skin paled and his eyes went wide and his jaw even slackened a bit. "Holy shit. Holy _shit._ That-th-that's not possible! First off, we would definitely get some sort of notice if bodies were coming into morgues without any blood in them. Second, Gavin's alive. So it had to be another girl." 

Ryan stood to his full height. He towered above the booth and Ray and the way the shitty lighting beamed down on him made him look as menacing as he had yesterday when he had glowered down at him and revealed his true identity as the infamous Vagabond. "Get up. We're leaving." Ray numbly followed directions, fearing that if he didn't then Ryan would whip out a pistol and end his miserable life right here in Horny's Burgers. The taller man threw down enough money to cover their bill and tip and headed for the door. 

The pair walked in silence. No words were exchanged between them as Ryan led them to the outskirts of the city and into the mountainous suburbs. They wound through shortcuts and cut across driveways and still Ray never raised a single question. Finally, they came to a stop at the front door of a house. It wasn't flashy or eye catching, in fact it looked nearly identical to the other houses surrounding it. Ryan fished out a key and unlocked the front door. "You're house?"

"Friend's house. She and her daughter are out of town, but they let me keep a room here when I need it."

"Do they know about who you really are?" 

"She doe. Daughter doesn't. Come on." Now that they were at a definite location Ray wanted to spill out every single question he had held in on the way over. A quick glance at a clock hung at the end of a narrow hallway indicated that he had gone way over his lunch break and he was going to be in so much trouble when or  _if_ he ever got back to work. 

Ryan pushed open another door and slipped into his room. The lights were harsh and demanding fluorescent, revealing a normal looking room with creme colored walls lined with filing cabinets. "You finally going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"The Life Eater is smarter than you think. She wouldn't stay in one spot for too long, or she would be hunted and killed. Humans tend to kill what scares them, and nothing is scarier than a beautiful woman who can kill you without hesitation." He dug into a filing cabinet and fished out a fat folder that was overfilled with documents. He dropped it onto the bed and shot Ray a dark look when he went to retrieve it. The M.E would keep his hands to himself until he was told otherwise. "She was stationed in San Andreas, then in another city in the Midwest, then she spent some time down in Austin. Always big cities, never for longer than 9 months. She spent some time here maybe 30 years ago. Now she's back and it seems her first victim was your friend."

"But that doesn't explain why she left him alive. Or that huge mess in his house." 

"Let me see your phone again?" Ray complied. Ryan scrolled until he found the picture of Gavin standing at the counter smiling and covered in his own plasma. Then he swiped to the close up of his neck. He used his finger to circle around the healing scar tissue. "See this. This is much messier than what she would have done. Like she got eager and got sloppy. Maybe she hasn't eaten in a while and got overwhelmed by that and just dug in."

"But he survived. He lost way over the natural amount for a human to survive. More than I originally thought if she managed to feed at all, too." Ryan nodded. "I think I have an explanation. Pick up that folder." He did and he flipped it open. 

**_VAMPIRES IN LONDON: HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM LIFE EATERS_ **

**_LOCAL CADAVER DRAINED OF BLOOD. POLICE SUSPECT FOUL PLAY_ **

**_MIRACLE ON ICE!! LOCAL SKATER SURVIVES FATAL BLOW TO THE NECK IN A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS_ **

**_DO THE DEAD WALK AMONG US? A STUDY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA IN KEARNEY_ **

Countless news articles and research papers spilled onto the sheets. Ray had a hard time absorbing all the information. "Contrary to what Hollywood says, when a Life Eater is injured, they still bleed. This blood, however, is not like yours. Even the tiniest drop in your bloodstream will transform you. Make you...into one of them." The papers flooded from the bed and onto the floor from the force of Ray rocketing to his feet. 

"You're fucking with me again." 

"Ray, I'm sorry-"

"You're lying. There's no way Gavin is one of them. He's not a...a..."

"I'm so sorry you have to hear this but there is no other explanation. I knew it had to be the case when you told me that he hadn't wanted to eat or drink after spending an entire day passed out and apparently lacking large amounts of blood. There's no other way to explain this. Gavin's a Life Eater now." Ryan reached out to gently pat Ray's shoulder but he slapped his hand away. "Don't. I'm leaving." He couldn't stand this anymore. If it was a lie then it had been taken way too far. It it was the truth.....

Ray didn't want to think about what it would mean for them if it was the truth. "Ray you can't just run away from this."

"I'm late for work, I have to leave anyways." 

"Hey." Ryan grabbed him and stopped him from leaving. "I'll drive you. Maurine left a car here and she won't mind if I take you." There was no protest from either party, so Ryan led him to the garage and the two slid into a beat up minivan. They drove in silence for a long while before Ryan finally spoke up. 

"I really am sorry it had to be this. I mean, it would suck if he was immortal, or like....dead for real. But I assure you, this isn't the worst possible outcome. In fact, seeing as you work in a morgue, you really don't have to worry about him finding a meal. As long as he doesn't mind old blood." Ray continued to stew in silence. "Okay. Not the time for jokes. So I'll talk straight to you." They rolled to a stop in front of the police station and Ryan quickly slammed the lock down. Ray jiggled the handle fruitlessly.

"You still have my number. And I know that these two days have been really crazy for all of us. I mean, I died, you found out about the existence of two different supernatural beings. And I have a feeling that it's just going to get worse from here for you. So, I want you to give me a call whenever things get rough. And I mean with anything. Gavin needing something you cant provide, finding strange things on or in corpses. Anything." The locks clicked open and Ray was out of the car in an instant. But he didn't slam the door in Ryan's face right away. Instead he turned back, sullen look on his face. 

"I'll think about it. Now get out of here. I need some time to think about all of this shit." With that he slammed the door and trudged up the stairs into the station. Ryan watched him disappear into the building with a heavy heart. His head fell against the steering wheel and he groaned loudly. He sat there and let his nerves calm down. Suddenly his phone chirped from his pocket.

**_k.i.t. i cant handle this on my own_ **

****Ryan smirked. "Will do, Narvaez."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i'm a piece of trash haha


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray imagines death so much it feels like a memory. Ryan keeps fucking with that memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> screams   
> i'm so sorry it took me almost a year to post the next chapter oml
> 
> okay like in my defense i keep getting super inspired to make new fics and new aus and no one stops me so now i have about 5 ongoing stories with unique plots and school to juggle and i honestly had no idea how to continue from the last chapter. anyways i hope yall like vampires because you're about to get some vampires

When Ray thought about his death he often imagined a stray bullet or a misstep off a tall roof. On rare occasions he saw himself aged well and surrounded by family and friends. He didn't imagine it would come for him here, standing in the morgue while Gavin mulled about his business as if the last 48 hours hadn't happened. As if his lunch hour with Ryan hadn't opened his eyes to the new and terrifying world that had been hiding just under his nose. Life Eaters. Immortals. He had gone from knowing nothing about the world, now he was knee deep inside it. 

But despite it all, there was nothing he could do but watch Gavin. Every move he made made his heart jump and his skin crawl. The way he worked with the bodies was no different than any other day. It was amazing how much those little bites on his neck could change. How two little nicks could make Ray fear that instead of examining the internal damage done to the arteries he would start eating them. 

That being said, how would Gavin eat? Could he still eat human food? Last night he had put his tea kettle away, something that should have caused panic in itself. He hadn't seen him eat or drink anything since the accident. What would he do if he ever regained his appetite? He supposed that would be one of the many perks of working in the morgue. Easy access to....He almost failed in suppressing a gag at the thought of Gavin slurping blood from a freshly dissected corpse. 

"John Doe. Age unclear, estimate between 23 to 27. Cause of death most likely from something puncturing the heart and partial lung." He paused to write the observations. "Areas of skin have been removed post mortem. Areas include a majority of the lower left bicep, the right thigh, and several patches along the face and neck. And here-" He paused again, more abrupt than the last time. "Ray, could you come over and look at this?"

Gavin's pen pressed against a patch of flesh on the side of the victim's neck. The skin had been peeled away to the point where he could see horrendously damaged muscle tissue. "What do those look like to you?" They were small. If he hadn't been looking specifically for them, he might have missed them. But despite the size, the discover made his heart jump into his throat. Two minuscule pricks in the muscle that looked deep enough to puncture down to the bone. If the skin hadn't been stripped away he was sure he would find tiny scars identical to the ones on Gavin. 

"I...uh...I don't know. Maybe whoever took off the skin nicked him?"

"That small and that deep? I don't think even you could get that kind of precision." He let out a soft chuckle. Ray shot him a weird look. It was incredibly out of character for Gavin to laugh during these procedures. Was that another side effect of being a Life Eater? Could that change your personality? "You're gonna think this is stupid, but I thought they kinda looked like vampire bites." Ray forced out a peal of laughter. 

"Y-yeah. That is kinda dumb." Was he sweating? He felt like he was sweating. A lot. Too much. Did Gavin notice? No, he was still studying the body, jotting down notes every now and then. While he was glad that Gavin had seemingly dropped the subject, knowing that in some way the idea of vampires was stuck in his head made the worry in his stomach grow and grow until-

"Hey boys! Got a delivery for ya!" Thank God for Lindsay Jones. The perky receptionist's face was covered by the enormous floral arrangement she was toting. The two of them moved to help her, wary of her very pregnant belly as they guided her down the stairs and into the morgue. She plopped the vase down on the free operating table much more roughly than she should have before turning to beam at Ray. "It's from your new boyfriend! He wanted to bring it down himself, but I didn't think Chief would be too happy if we let it happen again." She reached into the mess of roses and plucked out a tiny envelope with his name printed across in the loveliest handwriting  he had ever seen. 

 **_Ray  
_ ** _**Gotta keep up appearances. Say I wrote something really sappy.  
** _ _**Xoxo, Ryan** _

"It's uh....lovely. Anniversary present. Guess he couldn't wait until tonight." Lindsay cooed happily. 

"So cute! Congrats, Ray! I gotta get back to work, but be sure to tell me all they dirty deets tomorrow, kay?" She gave him one more harsh pat on the back before disappearing back to her desk. Finally, Ray let out a long exasperated sigh. Although, if the smug beams flying off of his coworker and into the back of his head were any indicator, this was far from over. 

"Happy anniversary, X-Ray~." 

"Look, Gav, I was gonna tell you, but you've seemed so busy lately-"

"You told Lindsay, though! She's probably has the most on her mind out of all of us!" 

"Yeah. She wasn't supposed to know. He kind of dropped by the other day when you were out sick?" It was a shitty excuse, and he knew it. The Brit's lower lip jutted out in a pout. "Still though! You've been dating long enough to have an anniversary and you didn't even mention it! I tell you about all of my Tinder dates, even that really bad one where the girl turned ou-"

"Alright alright, I get it. I'm sorry, Vav. I didn't mean to keep it from you, you just seemed really busy lately. Besides, it's only our one month." 

There was a pause. The only sound to be heard was the tapping of Gavin's pen against the metal operating table. Finally he let out a sad sigh. "Yeah, I see where you're coming from." He prodded the end of the pen into the cadaver, something that made Ray's stomach twist in a whole new and terrible way. "Speaking of dates.....I was planning on taking Meg out again tonight. Maybe you could join us? It'd be the perfect oppurtunity for me to meet your boyfriend, and you could meet Meg!" 

Ray felt like his blood had transformed into lead inside his veins and the sudden weight was trying to pull him through the floor and directly into Hell. He had really painted himself into a corner here. No, actually, _Ryan_ had painted him into his corner with the fake dating bullshit in the first place. Why couldn't he have murdered him and been on his way like he had planned to do? Why did he have to reveal his true identity as not only an Immortal but the notorious Vagabond? Why did he have to tell him about the underground world of Life Eaters? Why did Gavin have to go and get himself tangled into this mess? Why hadn't the Life Eater just killed him and moved on like her kind always did? 

He couldn't just let her get away with this. 

"I'll ask him what he thinks. For now we should probably get back to the autopsy." 

* * *

 

Ryan's phone buzzed around 3 pm. His initial reaction was to outright ignore it. Not that he was busy or anything. In fact, he would give anything to be anywhere else besides the penthouse living room. 

"It's been nearly four days since the criminals known as the Fake Gentlemen set off one of the deadliest explosions of the year, which killed nearly 10 civilians. And according to eye witnesses, the Gent's most ruthless member, the Vagabond was also one of these victims." Geoff reached over and punched his shoulder a bit too roughly. "Chief of police Gustavo Sorola has chosen not to comment on the incident at this time. As of now the other Gentlemen have yet to be located. The LSPD has placed a bounty of unspecified quantity on Geoff Laser Ramsey and Jacqueline Patillo."

"That's us!" Geoff's Diet Coke sloshed onto his lap, staining his pants for the millionth time as the kingpin leapt with joy. "I have never seen someone so happy to be wanted dead or alive." 

"At least those motherfuckers know they missed me! They think your dumbass is dead!" 

"He did die though!" Jack called from her room. When she poked her head out she revealed a face of half done makeup and horribly mussed up hair. Their rowdiness had clearly interrupted her routine. "Had to smooth talk his way out of the morgue too, didn't you Rye?" He wanted to tear the smug look off of her face and use it to slap the shocked one off of Geoff's. 

"It's not that big of a deal, you know. No one even recognized me without the mask, I basically just walked out of there!" 

"With the help of the sexy mortician." Jack ducked back into her room in time to avoid the throw pillow Ryan launched at her head. When his phone buzzed once more in his pocket he whipped it out and welcomed the distraction without even bothering to check Caller ID.

"Hello?" 

"Uh, hey...babe." The sound of Ray's voice sent his mood into a complete 180. "Oh hey!" He pulled the phone away, hissed out a quiet "I have to take this." and stalked back to his room, trying to hide the dopey smile the mortician's voice had brought to his face.

"What's up?"

"I got the flowers you sent me. Happy one month anniversary, by the way." So that was the story he had given his friends, huh? It was cute and simple, but vague enough that if their stories didn't always match up they could pull out the excuse that it had only been a month. "Back at ya. Anyways, did you call for a reason or are you keeping up appearances?"

"Kind of....I was going to surprise you tonight with dinner. But, uh, Gavin was wondering if maybe you'd be down with a double date? You know, with that girl he met the other night." The tone of his voice was casual enough to pass for a normal conversation, but Ryan had spent years training himself to pick up on subtle nuances in conversations. "So the Life Eater came back to finish the job?"

"I think so. Sorry to ruin the surprise, but Gavin would really like to meet you. I couldn't tell him no." 

"I gotcha I gotcha. Where do you wanna meet? There's a really nice place pretty close to-" He cleared his throat, stopping himself from dropping the penthouse's location casually. "The, uh, station. I can't think of the name, but it's like only a few blocks from it. How about that?" Ray breathed a sigh of relief on the other end. "Yeah, that place. Are you sure this is the first time you've heard about this surprise, babe? Or did I give it away?" 

Ryan chuckled. "I know you too well, you can't hide anything from me. See you at seven?"

"S-Sure. Seven. See you then.....babe." He hung up without another word. Ryan let out another chuckle. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't excited. He didn't know if he was more excited to get out of the house or to see Ray once again. Although, seeing as it was only 3:30, he had plenty of time to sort out his overly complicated feelings. And figure out what to do about the Life Eater. God, what  _was_ he going to do about that? He would have to swing by Maurine's house once more to sort through his files on surviving Life Eaters and hoping that out of all of them, it was a manageable one. He shuddered at the thought of one of the stronger Life Eaters taking Los Santos as its latest victim. The chance of the few friends and loved ones being hurt or worse made his blood go cold. 

The next three and a half hours seemed to drag on in agony. He scrubbed his face completely clean of face paint, then scrubbed it again for good measure. He tried on all of the nicest clothes in his closet before deeming none of them good enough for the evening. Why the Hell was he so nervous about this? It's not like this was even a real date, but here he was acting like a virginal teenager on prom night. He couldn't even blame his nerves on the possibility of going toe to toe with a ruthless Life Eater. If that was the case he would have said fuck it and gone Vagabond on their ass before anyone in that restaurant knew what hit them. 

He arrived nearly an hour early, reserving a booth near the back just before the dinner rush could claim it. He downed nearly three glasses of water while waiting for the others to arrive, meticulously rearranging the silverware and centerpiece countless times. The rhythmic tapping of his fingers against the table was the only thing keeping him grounded. He was so nervous he wanted to peel his skin off. God what was happening to him?

"Ryan?" He jumped in his seat.  _Jumped._  Since when did the infamous Vagabond jump when frightened? Ray stood over him, a large nosed man he assumed was Gavin practically glued to his side. They both were dressed in nice shirts, slacks, and matching purple ties. He forced himself to put forward a calm exterior as he rose to his feet and offered his hand to the gentlemen. Gavin shook it heartily, flashing a huge smile. "Nice to finally meet you. Ryan Haywood, Ray's boyfriend." God his heart could just melt at the way that sounded. 

"Gavin Free, charmed." 

"Gav's date is running a little late. She said to just go ahead without her." The look in Ray's eyes is doubtful. Like he just knows there's something up but he's not ready to just spill it out. Ryan pulled his chair out for him and gestured for him to sit. "Happy one month anniversary, love."

"Happy anniversary. Sorry again about Gavin tagging along-"

"No no no, don't worry about it. I'm honored you wanted me to meet your friends. It shows that we've really grown closer, hasn't it?" Ray let out a soft laugh. "Ah, yeah. I guess it does." 

From across the table Gavin let out a little squeak. "Boi! First off he's handsome as hell, but he's a romantic sap, too? He's perfect! Can't believe you hid this from me for a month!" The waiter swung by once again, bringing a new round of water and taking down orders. Before he left, he flashed Ryan a discreet thumbs up. He felt the tips of his ears flush. Great, first the universe was teasing him, now the waiter. 

The three of them made small talk to pass the time. As happy as he was to sit here and learn more about the fascinating lives led by the Los Santos PD medical examiners, he knew that this whole elaborate set up was for one thing and one thing only. It was only a matter of time before she showed up. And when she did they would need to be prepared. Sure, pretending to be head over heels in love with someone he just met was a challenge, but he had dealt with Life Eaters before. He had dealt with her kind before, and it hadn't been pretty. He repressed a shudder at the memory. All that fire....

_All that blood..._

"Sorry I'm late, boys." Her voice is melodic and sweet, the perfect pairing for her amazing physique. The blood red hue of her dress matched the fiery auburn curls that cascaded down past her shoulders, and even the thick rimmed glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose looked nothing short of radiant. All in all, she was insanely beautiful. "Meg!" Gavin rocketed to his feet, wrapping her in a tight hug which she happily reciprocated. "God, you look stunning, as usual. Did you dye your hair?" 

"Just this morning, actually. The purple was nice, but it just wasn't me anymore. Sorry it made me late, I just wanted to look my best for all of you." She flashes a sweet smile to the other two. "It's nice to meet you! You must be Ray, I've heard a lot of good things about you from Gavin. And you-" Her brilliant smile faltered slightly. 

"Ryan Haywood, Ray's boyfriend. Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" He tried to keep his tone even. While she put forth a sweet and cool exterior, it was clear to him that she knew in some way she had been discovered. Years in his line of business had trained him to pick up the subtleties of human interaction. Her smile and her sweet airy laugh was easy, carefree. Her shoulders were tense and her eyes kept flicking to Gavin's face, back to the entrance, over to Ray and Ryan's side of the table. She was turned into a nervous wreck at the mere sight of him. He let the conversation carry a bit more, before it finally turned back to him. 

"So, Ryan. What exactly do you do for a living? I don't believe I've seen you around before." 

"I do a lot of IT work. I mostly work from home, though, so you'll probably never see me out and about. Although, Meg, you never answered my question. I couldn't have sworn I had seen you before?" The Life Eater let out a nervous laugh. "Well, I'm kind of new to Los Santos, so I don't think-"

"Then online, maybe?" 

"I don't think-" She began again, only for Gavin to lay a hand over hers. "Don't be shy, Turney. She's this amazing Instagram model. She gets all kinds of promotions from makeup and clothing companies so she'll wear their products! She's been all over the world and-!" 

"Gav, baby, please! No need to bore them with my life story!" She gave his hand a tiny squeeze. "It's not as impressive as he's making it seem. I just kind of...." she waved her hand in a loose figure eight motion, "go with the flow. I go where there's new life, fresh blood." 

"What an interesting way of phrasing that." Ray chimed in. He had been relatively silent, mostly picking at his food or sipping his water. Ryan knew he had to be biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to spring whatever plan he had been so meticulously forming for the past half hour into action. Or he was just too nervous to talk. Probably both. "I-Is it? Guess it's just an odd saying I picked up from my family-"

"Where are they from? You mentioned you were new to Los Santos." 

"Austin Texas. Born and raised." 

"Interesting. So Gavin mentioned you two met on Tinder. What's someone as beautiful as you doing on a hookup site, I'm sure you don't need it." Gavin shot a sour glare in his friend's direction, but it went ignored. 

"I like to met new people. The city is huge, and it's pretty rare for me to get out of the house during the day. Apps like Tinder make it really easy to find people with similar interests. I guess me and Gavin just got lucky and really hit it off." Ryan watched as Ray's fist clenched tightly onto his slacks. His jaw tensed and his back straightened. He looked as if he was seconds away from causing the biggest scene this establishment has ever seen. A shrill shriek tore through the air, drawing the attention of every patron to the front. 

The woman is in her mid 20s, dressed for a fun evening on the town, and drenched from the knees down in blood. Several staff members rushed towards her, some drawn by the scream and others by her horrid scream. "Please please please someone help me!"

"Ma'am, please calm down, you're drawing a lot of attention-" 

"There was a man! A big man just torn to bits in the alley! Please come quick or call the police or something!" Ray and Gavin were out of their seats in an instant. The Brit reached into his breast pocket, producing what Ryan had to assume was an official badge or whatever it was the police station issued the medical examiners. "LSPD, what seems to be the problem?" 

"You have to come quick! Just down the road, it looks like a goddamn Quentin Tarantino film! I-I took a picture!" The picture she quickly pulled up looked like nothing more than a dark red glob from where he was sitting, but judging by the looks on everyone's face it was just as awful as she described. There was only one explanation.  Gavin gave a stern nod, taking the woman's arm and leading her from the restaurant. Ray turned back to them with a sheepish look. "I have to phone this in. You two could probably stay here, but we'll most likely be a while. Sorry to ruin date night." 

"It'll be fine. Go on, don't worry about it. I'll handle things here." Ray nodded and turned on his heel, whipping out his phone and punching in the station's number as he bolted in the direction Gavin had gone. The remaining two sat in a shocked silence for a hot minute, letting the uneasy murmurs of the other diners be their soundtrack.

"So," Ryan finally broke the tension, "you were late because you were dyeing your hair, huh?" 

"Are you accusing me of something, Haywood? Or should I call you by your proper name, Vagabond?" Her kind act dropped faster than the speed of sound. 

"Ah, so you do recognize me." 

"How could I not? Your little stunt took out half of my nest, including my sire. The survivors have been talking of revenge against you for years." 

"Is that why you came to Los Santos? Or do you just get off on turning innocent men?" Meg's long nails clawed into the table cloth. Her lips curled into a defensive pout. "Or maybe you just like to tear them open and let them die in the streets like animals." 

"Believe it or not, what's going on out there wasn't my doing. That's not me anymore." 

"No, you just leave them confused by their new craving for blood until it drives them mad." 

"That was not my intention!" She hissed. Her fangs glinted in the restaurant's smooth mood lighting. Ryan couldn't help but think about those horribly sharp incisors tearing into flesh. "Besides, I didn't even fully turn him! I asked him to meet my tonight so I could try and explain the situation. I wasn't going to hurt him, I wanted to help him!" Her features softened considerably. "Gavin is a very kind man. I would never hurt him on purpose." 

"You have to understand I have a hard time believing that, Turney." Ryan picked up his water glass, swirled the liquid a bit before taking a small sip. "After all, you've already caused him and Ray a great deal of pain."  Meg's pout curled into a soft sneer.

"Is that what this is about? I messed with one of your boy toy's and it made you angry? You're an  _immortal_ , Haywood. Give it five to ten years, you'll find a new one." Ryan let out a snarl. 

"Still bitter about something I see." She didn't respond, only drummed her well manicured nails against the table. With every passing second he was regretting not bringing a gun or some form of weapon with him in an attempt to make this seem like a real date. God, how could he have been so stupid? How could the idea of a romantic night with the handsome ME distracted him, the goddamn Vagabond, from his true goal. "Listen, Turney. You don't like me, and I don't like having you in my city. How about we compromise?" She tilted her head to show her slight interest in his proposition. 

"Stop tearing men's throats out, and I'll leave you and your new nest alone. I'll tell Ray we were wrong about you and you won't hear anything from me ever again." Meg let out a cackle: a genuine cackle that drew the attention of several other diners. 

"How many times do I have to tell you, I didn't do that! Gavin was an accident, that's why I had to make him a halfling. I learned my lesson with that and I haven't fed naturally since." Ryan paled at her words. He didn't want to trust her, he really didn't. She was a Life Eater. Her kind would say anything to get the upper hand in the situation, why would she start being truthful now. But most of all, he didn't want to believe her words because of the implications. 

If Meg hadn't done it, that meant someone else had. Which meant that there were more Life Eaters in Los Santos. 

Ryan carded his fingers through his hair and let out a deep, exasperated sigh.

"Fuck." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every time i tried updating this something would happen and the writing would like erase itself so  
> kill me debra
> 
> also this fic is over a year old wow


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot, much like the blood on our hands, has thickened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KILL ME 
> 
> oof i finally got the motivation for this story back so thats pretty great but also that means i have to........write. wack.

"Victim: Blaine Gibson. Age 28, cause of death......unknown." Ray let out a long sigh. To classify the death as unknown was actually a lie, he knew exactly what had killed the local celebrity. "Several lacerations across the throat and chest. Signs of blunt force trauma to the head, stomach, and knees. Possible mugging gone wrong." That theory would only be plausible if the mugging had been performed by someone with beyond super human strength. The bruises were easily second degree, venturing into third degree, the kind so severe that one would need to seek medical attention upon receiving them. But any logical person wouldn't believe the truth. 

Gavin hadn't said a word since they arrived on the scene. At first, it seemed as if he was incredibly focused on their work. But one look at his expression showed otherwise. Instead of the blank slate he usually sported, it was riddled with worry. "Something on your mind, Free?" 

"Do these marks look familiar to you?" Ray's brow furrowed. He leaned in closer to get a better look at the area Gavin was examining. With the amount of blood drying around it, it was hard to make it out at first. When the recognition hit, his stomach sank. Amongst the gore were two minuscule pricks, deep enough to puncture the veins. He had never seen these kind of marks fresh before. "Holy shit. Are those-"

"They're just like the ones on the John Doe back at the station. Ray, I don't think this is a coincidence." His voice dropped to a low whisper. "There are too many similarities. The age range, the brutal nature of the kill. And then there are those marks. Ray, we might have something big on our hands." 

This was a fucking nightmare. He had thought tonight would help him understand the world he had been introduced to only a short time ago, help him understand how to help his friend simply survive, but no. Instead his dress shoes were covered in blood and he was knee deep in what seemed to be a Life Eater gone rouge. His head felt like it was full of smog, so crowded and thick. He felt small. He wanted someone to wrap him in a tight hug and tell him that this was all going to be okay. Hell, he wanted Ryan. The only constant in this entire mess was Ryan. 

"I'm going back to the restaurant." He doesn't even register his voice as his own. It sounds far away, like trying to talk to someone through a wall. "Let Ryan and Meg know that we'll have to bail."

"I'm sure Sorola would let us go after we finish up." Gavin offered sympathetically. Of course. He was still naive. He didn't know the shit Ray knew, all that was on his mind was getting back to the succubus he had fallen for. 

"Yeah, I just don't think I can stomach anything right now. If anything, Ryan and I will ditch so you and Meg can have some time to yourselves." He forced a smile. Naturally, his best friend didn't seem to buy it for a second. 

"X-Ray, are you alright? I've seen you take on gorier cases than this without breaking a sweat. Is something bothering you?" 

"I'm fine." He choked out. Another flash of worry crossed over Gavin's face. He quirked his tips, as if thinking for a moment before turning to the crowd of officers on the scene and flagging one of them down. "Could you finish bagging this up? I need to get Narvaez home." 

"Gav-" The Brit turned to him with a look that could only be described as a mother scolding her sassy child in the supermarket. He held up one finger, and then turned back to the officer. 

"We'll be in tomorrow morning to finish the report, okay?" He pushed himself up, brushing his hands off on his slacks and leaving an unsightly streak of dirt. "Well, c'mon then. Let's go tell Rye and Meg the bad news, alright?" Without waiting for conformation he hooked their arms together and tugged Ray away from the scene, ignoring the cries of the Chief as they went.

* * *

"You didn't have to give me a ride home." Ryan let out a quiet chuckle at the pout hanging off of Ray's words.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you walk home with the night you've had?" Ray snorted. 

"You don't have to keep the act up, it's just us." A part of his heart took the words very personally.  _Too personally._ The younger man's head tipped back and he let out a heavy sigh. "Did you at least get anything out of the Life Eater? You two were acting weird right before we left." It was Ryan's turn to let out a sigh. 

"Yeah. Turns out the two of us have history. Her old clan caused some trouble in a city I was living in, I torched the place and killed most of them in a blaze of glory. The usual." He let out another bark of laughter at the side eye Ray was shooting him. "But no, I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. Well, except that Gavin is a halfling, not full fledged. Lucky for us, he'll be a lot easier to care for this way. He basically gets all the perks of being a Life Eater but still gets to function like a person."

"So no blood?"

"Well.....not all the time. He'll really only need it about once a month, once every two at the most. As long as he and Meg stay together she'll be able to feed him."

"Speaking of feeding...." Ryan tensed, knowing where Ray was trying to steer the conversation. "About that body they found in the alley... it had bites on the neck. Fresh ones. Do you think-"

"She didn't do it. That's not her style."

"Bullshit! You didn't see what she did to Gav's apartment!"

"I've seen her work before, Ray. I  _know_ that wasn't her."

"Then who else would it be?" Ryan wished he could lie. He wished he could protect Ray from the dangers he had inadvertently introduced him to, but that just wasn't an option. There was just no way around this without working him up in one way or the other. A tight sigh escaped his lungs.

"There are other Life Eaters in Los Santos." 

" _ **WHAT?!"**_ The car jerked a bit, earning Ryan an annoyed honk from an oncoming driver. He had expected a strong reaction, but not that strong. Or loud. His heart began to race in his chest, grip tightening on the steering wheel. 

"Ray-" 

"Take me to them." Once again Ray's reaction sent a shock through him. The medical examiner was no longer slumped over in his seat, the exhaustion completely drained from his face. Instead his expression was one of determination mixed with the tiniest bit of disgust. 

"What makes you think I know where they are?" 

"You know everything else about all of this shit." 

"I'm glad you think that, but it's not entirely true." He sighed heavily through his nose. "I only learned about them recently. As in, maybe 45 minutes ago. I'm not even sure where Meg is staying, let alone an entire nest. And even if I knew where they were, I wouldn't risk your life by taking you." Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the younger man clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles grew white. "You don't know what you're getting into."

"Then tell me. Stop being so fucking cryptic all the time and just talk to me, Ryan." Silence fell over the two of them, perfectly timed so that he rolled to a stop in front of Ray's apartment after a solid minute of discomfort. Ryan opened his mouth to speak but the right words wouldn't come out no matter how hard he thought about it. He could feel judgmental eyes on him, but he couldn't bring himself to meet them.

"If you won't help me, I will find someone who will. I'm not gonna let them hurt anyone else." The car door creaked open and slammed shut, a shudder running down Ryan's spine at the sound. There was no way this was going to end well. 

* * *

Another long yawn spilled from Ray's throat, eyes fluttering shut and feet stilling on the pedals of his bike, simply letting himself coast off of the street and into his spot behind the station. He had stayed up all night, partially because the thought of other Life Eaters residing in Los Santos wouldn't leave him alone. But the real reason he had forced himself to stay awake was far more important. 

He breezed past the friendly receptionist, past the break room where Jeremy and Michael try fruitlessly to wave him down and lure him in with fresh donuts. All the way down the hall to a large oak door with a shiny plaque across it. He knocked twice, waiting for the soft "Come in" before cautiously pushing the door open and slipping into the office. 

"Hey Chief." Gus' head perked up from the pile of work stacked on his desk, a tight smile flashing across his face before he returned to his work. 

"Ray. Good to see you made it in today. You looked like shit when you took off last night." That was part of the reason why Ray really truly loved working in this precinct. The chief's casual demeanor made the work environment so much more inviting. It was part of the reason he was so prone to goofing off during examinations, why he was never afraid to speak his mind. 

"Yeah. I, uh, wasn't in a very good place last night. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I learned something that I think you might want to hear." The chief spared him a quick glance and a light wave, indicating that he should continue. Ray sucked in a deep breath. This was it. This was what he had prepared all night for. "I know what killed Blaine Gibson yesterday. And the John Doe we got in that morning, too." 

This finally pried Gus away from his work. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly agape. "You do? Well, fuck Ray, spit it out!" 

His guts felt frozen. Though he had poured so much time and energy into this, he never really believed he would get this far. Even if he thought he would get this far, he didn't think the chief would be this enthusiastic to hear his answer. 

"A few days ago I learned of the existence of blood sucking monsters known as Life Eaters. I have reason to believe that one of them has been committing these murders, and possibly turning citizens into half Life Eaters." Gus' face dropped into a deep frown. "I have proof! We found minuscule bite marks on the necks of both victims, plus large amounts of blood loss. I have several articles that detail their existence and attack patterns." He reached into his shitty messenger bag and began rustling around for the loose pieces of newspaper Ryan had given to him almost a week prior. 

"Ray-"

He finally managed to locate them, promptly plopping them onto the chief's desk. "Also, I have photographs from the autopsy and crime scene. Those are in that pile, as well. Now, you're probably wondering how I came to learn about these creatures. Well, it's kind of a long story-"

"Ray-" 

"It all started after that huge gas station explosion that killed 11 people." 

"Narvaez! Cut it out, already!" Gus snapped. Ray was taken aback, having never seen the man lose his temper before. "Look, I get it. You've had a hard week. We all have. But you can't just be goofing around like this, especially not with the Gibson case. Do you know how popular his vlogs were? People are _devastated_ over his death."

Ray felt his heart sinking deeper and deeper with every word. Honestly he should have seen this coming. He had spent so long talking himself into telling him all of this but he didn't even consider the possibility of rejection. "Sir, please listen-" 

"No. I'm very busy trying to clean up this mess, I just don't have the time to deal with another prank. Please, just go back to the morgue and finish Gibson's autopsy." 

Ray had never felt so dejected in his entire life. Not even when his mother called to chew him out for turning down a position as the lead surgeon at the Central Los Santos Medical Center. Or when no one had showed up to celebrate his 21st birthday with except Gavin. Hell, the only time he had ever felt this low was a few days ago in his best friend's apartment, scrubbing blood from the floor only feet away from what he assumed was his corpse. 

He stomped down the stairs into the morgue, plopping onto the break room couch with a loud groan. "What's up m'boy?" Gavin hollered. So early in the morning and he was already wrist deep in a dead man's gut. "You and Rye have a long night?"

"Yeah something along those lines." He twisted in his seat to get a better look at the corpse his partner was so diligently carving away at. It was Blaine Gibson. Somehow it seemed so much more real to see him laid out with his chest pulled open. "You checked Twitter recently? People are losing their goddamn minds over this guy." 

"Well, he did make some pretty compelling vlogs." Gavin wiped the sweat from his brow, spreading gore across his forehead. "Though, I guess not everyone agreed. Some people are speculating that the attacker is an ex-fan or someone who didn't quite agree with his content. The savage nature of the death says otherwise, but you know how rabid fans can be these days." 

Sure, the attacker was rabid. But not in the way Gavin was thinking. He should tell him the truth. He really really should. He had planned on it last night, when he had backup and Life Eater that started all of this in the first place. But after the chief's reaction.....plus he would have to explain that, no, he wasn't dating Ryan. Ryan was just the most feared, ruthless, undead mercenary in the city, and the only reason they were together was because he had blackmailed his way out of the morgue after an explosion he caused killed him and ten others. 

Something told him that it might not go well. "How'd the rest of your night go?" 

"Pretty good, actually. Meg and I went back to her place~" The knot in Ray's stomach tightened. 

"Anything interesting happen?" 

"Not really. We actually just kind of watched Netflix and chilled. She made popcorn and drinks and it was just a really nice time." A dopey smile spread across his lips. "I think she might be the one, yknow?" His hands stilled in Gibson's chest cavity. "I think I might be in love with her." Ray felt that icy feeling spreading over his insides as the light in his best friend's twinkled. 

"Gav, can I ask you something?" The Brit let out a noise of conformation, already lost in his work once more. "If you had a lead on a case, would you follow it? Even if Gus had told you to drop it?" The only sound for a good few minutes is the squeak of shoes on linoleum and the occasional clink of the scalpel against the examination table. 

"Well that's one hell of a puzzle, innit? I s'pose if Chief Sorola told me no, I'd probably drop it." Ray let out a dejected sigh. "But if  _Gus_ told me no....well he's really swamped right now, yeah? What's he really gonna do to stop me?" The lovesick smile had morphed into a smug grin, the kind of grin that always made the devious little demon inside of Ray awaken. "So, where we going today, X-Ray?" 

"Sorry, Vav. I think I'll have to go this one alone." His expression morphed once more, this time into a pout. 

"But we're partners! The infamous X-Ray and Vav! Solving crimes, getting babes!" 

"I know, I know. I just don't think you should be out getting babes while Miss Turney is waiting so patiently to court you." At that Gavin let out a startled gasp, followed by the sound of something a bit too  _squishy_ to be a tool hitting the floor. "Did you just drop one of his organs-"

"How cruel of me! You're completely right, I can't be a vigilante while my lady love waits for me!" He declared dramatically while stooping down to retrieve the organ that he most definitely dropped onto the dirty floor. "Alas, it's not in the cards for me. Though, you could at least give me a hint to where the investigation is leading you?" 

That was the real question, wasn't it? "It's a surprise. Now, what can you tell me about Mr. Gibson's internal organs?" 

The rest of the work day seemed to go by seamlessly and swiftly. Before he knew it it was time to clock out and head home and he had yet to form any sort of plan. Asking Ryan for help was more of less off the table, as well as Gavin or anyone else on the force. That there pretty much eliminated the immense list of people he knew and trusted. As for people who would actually have any useful information, that only left one person. As much as it killed him to do so, he knew he had no choice but to contact her. 

"Turney Modeling, how can I direct your call?" 

"Meg, it's Ray." He's surprised she doesn't drop the call instantly. She inhaled sharply through her nose, and he could just feel the nervous energy pouring from the phone.

"How did you get my number?" 

"Stole it from Gavin's phone. Don't hang up, I need you to do me a favor." 

"Oh? What makes you think I owe you one? We just met last night." She hissed. Ray laughed quietly into the speaker. 

"You knew my date pretty well, though. What was it he goes by sometimes, The.....The Vagabond, right?" 

"So you know his dirty little secret. Good for you." She sounded tense. Scared. He could still win this. "Well don't just stand their breathing into the phone like a freak. Tell me what you want from me." 

And that's how he found himself biking through the poorly lit backroads of Los Santos in the dead of night with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a kitchen knife he had stuffed into his backpack on impulse before departing. He breezed past buildings covered in spray paint murals and groups of men sporting their colors with pride. The gave him small nods or flicks of their cigarettes as he passed and he returned the favor as best as he could. He knew this part of town, sure. But his nerves felt like they were all being shocked with millions of volts of electricity at once.

He quickly glanced at his phone, checking to make sure he was still on the path the GPS had laid out for him. He was mere minutes away now, yet he still didn't have a solid game plan. He needed evidence of Life Eaters that the chief couldn't deny, but he also needed to eliminate them before they did anymore harm.

He screeched to a stop in front of a rundown warehouse. Funny, he had thought this place was abandoned since he was a child. In fact, it still looked as if no one had even thought about it in several long, harsh years. The longer he looked at it the more he felt as if Meg had just taken advantage of his desperation and sent him on a wild goose chase. Just as he was about to give up and turn back something caught his eye. A flash of a shadow crossing in front of a window, only for a split second. "No fucking way." He mumbled. His limbs felt numb and heavy as he parked his bike in a safe place and made his way into the building, firing off one last text to Gavin to let him know that they were about to make a huge break in the case. 

"Anybody home?" His voice felt thick and hoarse in his throat. He wasn't sure what he expected, really. Several Life Eaters springing from the shadows camera ready? A layer of bloodless corpses? Instead he found nothing. No evidence, no proof that anything actually resided here. Maybe he was finally losing it after all these years. Despite these doubts he pressed forward. The shitty flashlight on his phone did little to illuminate his path, nearly causing him to trip over debris several times. There was a strange amount of abandoned furniture, but nothing that really screamed suspicious. Nothing that screamed Life Eater nest. 

"Now would be a good time to, uh, let yourself be known? Reveal yourself to me? Um...." God this was so stupid. He had been played like the goddamn cheap plastic kazoo he was. He gave the floor one last sweep before begrudgingly making his way to the exit. Right before leaving he paused, phone vibrating in his hand. A text. From Ryan of all people. 

**_i know where u are_ **

Before he could respond another text came through.

**_dont move_ **

"What the-" He squinted into the darkness, searching for something resembling human. "Ryan? You out there, man?" He took a step forward, only to be blocked by a blur, seemingly coming from no where. Once again, before he could react, a sharp pain blossomed across his jaw. Consciousness slipped from his grasp before he hit the ground. 

When he was once again able to open his eyes, all he found was pain and blackness. He tried to raise a hand to rub at the bruise forming on his lower jaw, only to find them tied to the legs of the chair he most certainly didn't remember blacking out on. "Oh fuck me running." He muttered. 

"Well well well. We almost lost ya there, didn't we big guy?" A voice taunted from the darkness. "Good thing your friend stopped you. We could've lost out on a great meal." Several different peals of laughter echoed from around the room. 

"Are you the Life Eaters Meg told me about?" 

"You know The Doll?" So this most likely was a set up. How could he let himself be tricked like this? He had to know this would happen, right? 

"Do you know The Vagabond?" Another peal of laughter. 

"Know him?" A different voice responds. "Darling, he's right here." A blur of motion and suddenly Ryan is stumbling into view. Finally, his eyes seem to have adjusted enough to the dark to see other figures gathered around them. There are about five of them. The tallest of them all steps forward, grabbing the back of Ryan's jacket and pulling him to his knees. "We know more about this man than you ever will." Ryan peered up at him. It scared him to see that look in his eyes. Ryan Haywood, the ruthless Vagabond, looked afraid. Ray leaned as close as he could, close enough to whisper. 

"How did you find me? You said you didn't even know where the nest was."

"Gavin tipped me off. Said he was worried when you wouldn't let you help him with the lead, but he didn't want to make you think you didn't trust him and-" The Life Eater with the grip on him pulls  _hard._ Ryan lets out a pained grunt as he's pulled to his feet by his hair. 

"Enough chit chat. It's almost dinner time." With superhuman strength he flings Ryan back to the others, a slim feminine figure grabbing him and holding him in place. "Blondie, Sauce. Keep The Vagabond under control while I prepare our meal." A tall bearded man stalked towards him. His appearance is not what he was expecting. The man is well put together, dressed in nice black jeans and a short sleeved button down shirt. He's well groomed, surprisingly grime free for his living condition. "You look like a nice kid, it really really sucks that Doll set you up like this."

"You're lying. Meg would never-!" Ryan's words were cut off by a pained grunt. One of the Life Eater's had punched him right in the diaphragm. 

"Had no idea you two were so close, Vagabond~" Blondie purred. "Tell us more about what Doll would never do. Is she just as freaky with her food as the rumors say?" Ray couldn't help but flinch in his seat. 

"Didn't like that, did you buddy? Is that how you got the tip for this location? Are you her IV? Her feeding tube? Her spy? Is that why you're so keen on protecting her good name?" 

"She's not a part of your clan?" Ryan asked. The Life Eaters cackled. Fear twisted through Ray, harder and deeper than ever before. 

"The Doll doesn't have a clan. Not after what you did back in Glenwood. She told us that she doesn't trust nests anymore." 

"Yknow what I think?" The one called Sauce hummed. "I think she just doesn't like sharing her food. Not that I blame her." He leaned closer, but not close enough for Ray to make out his appearance. "Don't think there's enough of this one to go around, Luna." 

"We'll make it last. Blondie and Shadow can go light this time, they had bigger portions with the last hunt."

"So is having stupid nicknames for each other a Life Eater thing, or are you guys the exception?" Ray felt every eye in the room on him. It did not feel great. It made his guts twist tighter and tighter with every passing second. The bearded man, Luna, scowled at him. Wordlessly he reached down and roughly untied one of Ray's wrists. "We're done wasting time. Let's eat." He held it up to his nose, inhaling deeply as if testing him like a fine wine. 

"If you hurt him I will go full Glenwood on your blood sucking asses!" Ryan roared. Ray could feel his heart hammering in his chest. How had this all happened so fast? He had just wanted proof. Evidence that he was right all along to rub in Gus' face. Though, he supposed his bloodless corpse would make for some pretty solid proof. Or if they turned him, he could simply turn himself in. That would be one way to break the news to Gavin, he supposed. God, poor Gavin. He would never get to know the truth. He should have just told him when he had the chance to. The whole truth. Everything about Life Eaters and immortals. The truth about Ryan and how they had met. 

"Please," Ryan's voice came much softer this time, "Take my blood instead. Kill me if you have to, just don't hurt Ray." Even in the darkness he could see the fear on Ryan's face. That was what scared him most of all. There was a quiet murmuring as the clan discussed their options. 

_"If we eat the Vagabond, he'll just come back."_

_"Yes, but he's more filling than the spy."_

_"What if we just eat them both, then there will be plenty to go around."_

_"No no, we can't risk too big of a hunt. Not yet. Not this early on."_

As they spoke, Luna's focus began to drift from his prey to his clan, grip on Ray's wrist loosening just barely. Just barely was all he needed. In a flash Ray wrenched his free, curled his hand into a fist and bashed it against his captor's temple. The man let out a surprised yelp, staggering back and clutching his wounded head. A gasp filtered through the rest of the clan, Ryan letting out a delighted bark of laughter at the sight. Sadly, their victory was short lived. Just as quickly as Ray had freed himself Luna reclaimed his arm, pulling harshly so he could look him in the face. His eyes glowed a smoldering red, like an ember right before it died out.

"I've made up my mind. Prepare the Vagabond for dinner. If we all chip in we can drain him in no time. As for you, my little spy...." He tossed Ray's arm aside, as if he had suddenly deemed it unworthy of his touch. "I have a special treat for you. You will not be hunted. Instead, I'm sending you home." Over Luna's shoulder Ray could see Ryan visibly relax in his captor's grip. "In fact, I'm sending you on a shortcut. Make sure the Vagabond is watching. He seems rather fond of this one." 

Luna turned on his heel and marched to the far corner of the room. A small bit of moonlight streamed in from a small, dirty window, illuminating his face and he rooted through the debris. After a good minute of digging he rocketed to his feet with a proud "A-ha!" and quickly made his way back to the center of the room. "Well, Ray. I have to admit, though our time together was short I rather enjoyed it. But all good things must come to an end." 

"By that logic this should drag on forever."

Luna gave a sarcastic smile at his statement. "I'm not really a fan of long drawn out scenes. I really like ones that get straight to the point." In an instant he pulled the treasure he had found among the trash from his belt, Ray's terrified mind barely having the time to process the moonlight glinting off of it's metallic surface before the blade slashed across his throat. 

Everything seemed to slow down. Ryan let out a horrible roar, thrashing against the Life Eaters' grasps. Blood gushed from the gash onto the rotting wooden floors, filled his mouth and coated his skin. The taste was different than he imagined. Of all the times he had imagined his own death, this wasn't one of those scenarios. He felt his body slumping forward, partially held in placed by the arm still bound to the chair. Warm wetness seeped into his clothing, some of it already drying and crusting up. Eventually the darkness he had just grown accustomed too engulfed him whole once more. The last thing he saw before finally letting go was Luna, twirling the bloodied knife in his fingers as he stalked towards Ryan. 

* * *

 

Jack pressed a warm washcloth to the fresh puncture wounds, cooing sympathetically when he flinched away from the sensation. "I'm surprised they let you walk out of there alive, Rye. You have no idea how fucking lucky you are." 

"I know." He replied numbly. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how he had managed it either. He had been tortured by some of the cities top private eyes, and even then he had kept the air of confidence about him as he dismantled them piece by piece with nothing more than his wit. Right now he wasn't even sure  _how_ he had gotten out of the nest, let alone made it home alive. 

"What are you gonna do about....you know...." She gestured to the body spread out on their coffee table. "Geoff won't be too happy to know you tracked blood in on his good carpet." 

"Then he should have sprang for hardwood." Even Jack couldn't help but giggle at that. 

"Alright. I'm gonna go get you some juice and a snack, okay? Clean up a little bit while I'm gone." She tossed the washcloth rather unceremoniously onto his lap, it landing with a quiet  _splat_. Being the stubborn man he is, he waited until she was out of his line of sight to scoop it from his lap and began gently dabbing at the dried blood on his neck. Once he had finished cleaning himself, he moved to the coroner. Softly, as if not to hurt him. 

How could he have let this happen? This was all his fault. If he had just insisted, or checked in on him earlier that day like he wanted to, this whole horrible mess could have been avoided. Or if he had just kept his mouth shut in the first place. Hell, if he wasn't so fucking reckless when it came to heists he could have avoided it all and been laying low with Jack and Geoff in the penthouse instead of whatever the fuck it was he had gotten tangled into this time. 

He stooped down and pressed his lips to his matted mess of dark hair. "I'm so sorry, Ray. I'm so fucking sorry." He wanted to cry, he really did. But nothing would come. He stayed in that position for a long while. Until the form beneath him shifted slightly, a soft raspy groan filling his ears. 

"I feel like shit." He pulled back, flashing a tired smile to the man on the coffee table. Mentally he made a reminder to take the time to thank every possible deity he could for this moment. For this goddamn miracle.

"Ray. I'm glad you're awake. We have......well we have a lot of shit to talk about, huh?" 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a very dialouge heavy chapter but at the same time bite me
> 
> comments are always appreciated! sorry if i dont put out chapters too often, I've been going through some rough shit lately and it's kind of affecting my motivation to work haha

**Author's Note:**

> hey remember when i said no zombies
> 
> be sure to comment and kudos if you liked it!!! I'm always open for constructive crit!


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